By Denis Vass of Graham High School

Today's game for the Eastern North Carolina 2-A Regional Championship was a display of vivid contrast. In the opening period, the Stallions of Southwest Onslow looked like throughbred horses bolting out of the starting block in the Kentucky Derby for the Running of the Roses. Graham appeared to be a beat-up old jalopy running on three cylinders on a dirt track in Ossippee.

   The Stallions strategy appeared fairly simple. Drive to the basket, toss the ball up, if it misses, crash the boards and throw it back up in hopes that the ball will fall through the hoop. For the first quarter, that strategy worked as the Stallions rolled to a 9-0 lead before Courdne Miles put Graham on the board at the 3:58 mark. Southwest Onslow led 19-9 after a period of play. Janika Williams scored 6, Jasmine Jordan scored 7, and Shytianna Taylor scored 6 in the first.

   Like a well-tuned pit crew at the Daytona 500, Coach Ward and his assistants called numerous pit stops (timeouts) to adjust their machine. Slowly but surely, the Lady Devils showed signs of improving from a jalopy to a Mustang. By the third quarter, they looked like a finely-tuned Lamborghini racing machine speeding down the Autobhan at 200 miles an hour.

The Stallions, on the other hand, had their horseshoes fall off in the 2nd and 3rd period, as the Red Devils outscored them 38-11 and never looked back.  In the 2nd half, the Red Devils outscored the Stallions 43-19.

From missing shots to missing free throws to numerous unforced turnovers, the Stallions never looked like they did the first quarter the remainder of the game, largely due to Graham's defensive intensity, which they turned on after the 1st period to thoroughly frustrate the Stallions.

   It took Graham (29-3) until 1:00 left in the 2nd period to catch the Stallions when a basket by Kiki Allen pulled Graham even at 23-23. The Stallions were able to convert as time ran out to take a 25-23 halftime lead. That would be the Stallions last lead of the game.

In the third quarter, Logan Apple tied the game at 25-25, then at the 7:25 mark, Kiki Allen shot a dagger through the Stallions as she nailed a 3 pointer to give Graham the lead they never relinquished. Graham went on a 19-3 run to end the 3rd quarter, led by Kaila Lea, who had 8 points, and Courdne Miles, who scored 4 of her 17 points in the third. Graham led 47-30 after three periods.

   The Red Devils held the Stallions to 5 total baskets the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Southwest Onslow did not help their cause by missing on 9 of 11 free throws through the first three quarters.

The Red Devils continued to push their speed-demon machine through the fourth quarter as they led by as many as 21 points before Coach Ward opted to let guard Beth Miller run the four corner offense to near perfection. Miller had 4 assists the fourth quarter, as Graham hit 7 of their 9 attempts the final quarter. Most were easy lay-ups after passes from Miller splitting the Stallions defense. The final score was 66-44.

   Graham will play Salisbury next Saturday for the State 2-A Championship. Salisbury stunned previously undereated and #1 ranked East Davidson 26-24 today in the Western North Carolina Regional Championship.

   The Red Devils were led by Courdne Miles, who scored 17 points and had 7 rebounds to go along with 8 blocks. Tournament MVP Kiki Allen scored 14. Beth Miller had a sub-par shooting day, one game after scoring 29 against Northside, as she only managed 6 points. The other facets of her game, however, proved to be instrumental in the Red Devil's victory. Miller dished out 11 assists, and her handling of the basketball the final part of the game was poerty in motion.   Kaila Lea added 10 points for the Red Devils. Caroline Enoch scored 5 points and had 8 rebounds.

   Shytianna Taylor led the Stallions with 14, while Jasmine Jordan was the only other Stallion in double figures as she tossed in 12.

   Let's hope the third time is the charm for Coach Ward and his crew!

To read an article from the Jacksonville Daily news, click HERE

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